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Couch Potatoes Attempt To Set Guinness World Record

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Career couch potatoes settled in Saturday in an effort to set a Guinness world record for continuous TV watching.

Nineteen people are planted in front of a small screen in a special acrylic theater at the Hollywood & Highland central courtyard.

The stunt was set up to promote the DVD release of the entire eight-season, 192-episodes of the Fox series "24" starring Kiefer Sutherland.

The Guinness record is 86 hours, so the competitors must stay glued to a screen showing reruns of the series through Monday afternoon. Participants get five-minute bathroom and food breaks every hour and a buffet has been set up nearby.

Of the 100 who began the endurance contest two days ago, 18 males and 1 female remain, organizers say.

The couch potato who outlasts the rest will win $10,000.

The couch potatoes must stay awake the entire time, and many have been eliminated because they fell asleep, publicist Jerry Digney said. One man has been pouring bottled water over his head to stay awake, while another has been running around during breaks.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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